


hearing loss.

by seekrest



Series: febuwhump 2020. [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Hurt Peter Parker, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:28:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22738051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekrest/pseuds/seekrest
Summary: Peter’s not completely sure of what’s happening as he starts to feel dizzy - the few seconds that he’s been upright being a little too much for him.His body starts to lean to the side out of his control only to be immediately stopped, feeling the cold embrace of metal arms - glancing up only to see Tony’s panicked expression.Peter blinks at him, the ringing in his ears growing louder and louder as he tries to focus on his mouth - seeing his lips move but not hearing anything, feeling the vibrations of the loud booming sounds as his eyes shift upward and away from Tony.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: febuwhump 2020. [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1619581
Comments: 45
Kudos: 254





	hearing loss.

**Author's Note:**

> Two weeks of febuwhump... we’re halfway there kids.

There’s a sharp ringing in his ears, the first thing Peter really registers when he opens his eyes. 

The sky is dark, flashes of light in the background that _looks_ loud - his ears feeling like they’re stuffed with cotton as he blinks, trying to focus in on the world around him.

He’s lying flat on his back, the ground beneath him feeling cold as he moves his hand to his head, gloved fingers gingerly moving across his scalp to check for any kind of injury.

He doesn’t find one, wincing as he wiggles his toes and cautiously tilts his head, feeling like he’s been hit by a train but getting the sense that he’s not bleeding from anywhere as he groans, slowly moving himself into a sitting position.

His ears are still ringing, something loud and obnoxious in the background - the vague traces of annoyance at… something that Peter can’t quite put a finger to. 

Peter groans from the shift in gravity, putting a hand to his temple as the headache building behind his eyes starts to become more focused, muffled sounds in the distance still ringing in the air. 

He blinks a few more times, seeing the shot of and then spark of something that his mind immediately supplies as a firework, wincing as the flash of light blinks - a cacophony of colors that Peter can’t place. 

There’s a loud thud coming from… somewhere, things that almost sound like explosions going off in the distance still echoing in the back of his mind. 

Peter’s not completely sure of what’s happening as he starts to feel dizzy - the few seconds that he’s been upright being a little too much for him.

His body starts to lean to the side out of his control only to be immediately stopped, feeling the cold embrace of metal arms - glancing up only to see Tony’s panicked expression.

Peter blinks at him, the ringing in his ears growing louder and louder as he tries to focus on his mouth - seeing his lips move but not hearing anything, feeling the vibrations of the loud booming sounds as his eyes shift upward and away from Tony.

He sees it then, a massive ship blocking out the sky - the reason why the sky looked so dark- watching for a beat too long, feeling Tony try to tug him up and away. 

Peter’s head drifts over to him, everything feeling more and more muffled as his brain tries to catch up to whatever it is that Tony’s saying to him - the wide-eyed expression on his face and the furious rush of lips telling Peter that there’s something wrong in the back of his mind even if he can’t quite place what it is. 

There’s a low-hum in the back of Peter’s mind, having nothing to do with the muffled explosion still going on in the background and everything to do with the thrum of his heartbeat - feeling something coming even if he can’t pinpoint what it is. 

But then he swallows whatever it is down, allowing Tony to lift himself up as he staggers - the cool hand of the Iron Man suit almost pulling him away from where he’d been. 

It’s a second too late, the hair on the back of Peter’s neck rising only moments before it hits - a massive explosion behind the two of them that immediately knocks them forward, Peter flying in the air again - Tony’s grip on him immediately pulled away as he’s thrust in the air. 

In the split-second that he’s airborne, a part of Peter thinks that he should be quicker than this - that he should be able to easily avoid whatever is happening.

But before Peter can come to any kind of conclusion, he hits something - _hard_ \- and Peter blacks out.

* * *

When Peter finally comes to again, he’s face down - his entire body aching and his ears still ringing, his head feeling like lead as he tries to move.

He knows he has to, the low level hum of danger creeping in the back of his mind still inching slowly down his spine - propelling him up and forward as he lifts his head up, coughing away the dust that had accumulated in his mouth, in his lungs. 

It reminds him of what fighting Toomes on the beach had felt like, moments after they’d crashed landed - right before he’d flown in out of nowhere and had snatched him in the air. 

Peter glances up, the usual checks to make sure he isn’t permanently injured pushed away because of the danger creeping in the back of his mind, his movements sluggish as he tries to sit up into a crawl position - only to collapse back onto his stomach.

Peter winces then groans, _feeling_ the damage inside of him - convinced that he’s either bruised or broken a rib as he leans over to his side, flopping back down to his back for some relief.

He blinks a few times again, seeing the thing that his brain now supplies as a ship - eyes taking in the world around him with a clarity that he didn’t have only moments before, even if the ringing in his ears is still an ever present threat. 

Thanos’ ship is in the air, raining down fire - a part of Peter knowing that he should try and dodge but the rib that he’s sure is broken causing his breath to shorten, feeling the wetness in the back of his throat as he watches the fight above him. 

They’re losing, badly - Peter’s last cognizant memory being flung into the air by one of Thanos’ goons only to be hit by some kind of blast that had sent him careening out of the sky, remembering the echo of Tony’s agonized cry moments before he’d hit the ground.

Peter glances to his side, looking to see where Tony was only to find dust - coughing so hard that his whole body shudders. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, Peter knows this - remembering Doctor Strange’s explanation of the fight they were heading towards, the guilt that he held in his eyes as he stared at Peter - talking to him about the five years that they’d been gone.

There was something in his expression that Peter can’t place, his mind still feeling like he’s crawling through wet cement as the low hum in the back of his mind starts to flare into something louder - crying out as he shifts himself to his side and then up, limping as he moves aimlessly.

Peter just catches a glimpse of the lady on a horse getting shot out of the sky, then the raccoon and tree fighting off in the distance.

The ringing in the ears is starting to fade as Peter limps on, gritting his teeth as he focuses his steps - seeing it seconds before it’s flung in the air, the gauntlet that one of Thanos’ minions had forcibly ripped from Clint’s hands getting sent up in the sky.

Peter doesn’t even feel like he can walk straight, his ribs and his body aching at him but he sends a web out anyway, an agonized cry splitting out from him as he does so from the ache in his ribs - seeing out of the corner of his eye as one of Thanos’ minions comes barreling towards him - the force of the gauntlet landing in his chest upsetting his balance as he takes a step back, clutching it tight. 

His chest is heaving, his lungs feeling like they’re on fire as he gasps - the world starting to move in slow motion. 

On one side of him, he sees the alien barreling towards him - clutching the gauntlet tighter as his mind races, only to shift to the side - seeing in a split-second both Tony and Doctor Strange. 

Tony’s nanosuit is half destroyed, Peter taking in his broken nose and the odd way his leg is twisted, blinking slowly before seeing the look on his face - hand extended as he tries to move his way forward.

But then another second passes and Peter’s attention shifts away from Tony to Strange, recognizing the look in his eyes again as the world around him starts to slow down - the realization dawning on him not so much in words, but in a feeling. 

Peter can see the emotions in Strange’s eyes - the guilt, the grief, the determination - a split-second decision that makes Peter realize exactly what it is he needs to do. 

Peter looks back and sees Tony’s wide-eyed expression just then, the roar of the battle around them coming sharply into focus - feeling without looking that Thanos’ army was coming towards him.

He doesn’t have time to wait, doesn’t even have time to think - just staring into Tony’s eyes and hoping that he’s communicating everything he never got the chance to say, everything he never _will_ , seconds before he does the one thing Peter knows Tony will never forgive him for.

But he has to do this, the reality of their losing battle and the understanding flooding him - his whole body almost radiating with anticipation, wondering if the moment that he’d been bitten had led up to this exact moment - that everything in his life, every moment as Spider-Man had prepared him for the mantle of responsibility he can feel in his gut. 

This was what he was meant to do, what he was _made_ for - distantly wondering if the radiation that had changed him would be enough to save him, even if Peter immediately reconciled that even if it wasn’t - this was the right thing to do.

Peter doesn’t waste another second as he slips his hand into the gauntlet, the full force and power of the infinity stones coursing through him, barely hearing Tony’s scream. 

He raises the gauntlet in his arm, the agony of feeling like he was split apart atom by atom - eyes up to the sky as the whole world, the whole universe feels like it grows quiet. 

Peter takes a deep breath, the ringing in his ears the last sound he hears before he puts his fingers together - smiles, blinks. 

And snaps. 


End file.
